Bissau, Guinea-Bissau ? China paid for the marble and tile parliament building soaring above the crumbling homes of this former Portuguese colony and is promising a dam and a military hospital – all with none of the political strings Western donors might attach.

Intent on cementing ties across Africa, China is active even in impoverished Guinea-Bissau, a small nation with little industry, no oil and few exports.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing ended a two-day visit here Thursday, part of a tour that includes Chad, Benin, Central African Republic, Eritrea and Mozambique. Li arrived from Equatorial Guinea, Africa’s third-largest oil producer, where he agreed to forgive about $75 million in debt.

Some nations on Li’s itinerary are sources of the raw materials China’s booming economy craves. Countries like Guinea-Bissau may not have much to offer today, but could in years to come. In courting them, China has turned on its head the Western aid formula that has tied public works projects to progress in good governance.

“China is not like the World Bank; they don’t attach all these conditions on the money,” said Edmundo Vaz, a former adviser to the Guinea-Bissau Finance Ministry who now runs a bank.

The Chinese strategy is especially troubling to countries like France, traditionally a power in West Africa, said Valerie Niquet, a director at France’s Institute for International Relations. France has a particular interest in Chad and Central African Republic, countries on Li’s tour where stability has been undermined by violence in neighboring Darfur.

“China is not listening at all to the concerns that are being expressed by Paris on these development strategies,” she said.

When asked about China’s investment in nations with records of human rights abuses – notably Sudan and the Central African Republic – Li replied curtly: “Do you know what the meaning of human rights is? The basic meaning of human rights is survival – and development.”

Inside the parliament building, security guard Feliciano Balde said his country is better served by Chinese aid.

“In a corrupt country, it’s better to come and build something big like this where the people can come to discuss politics,” said the 42-year-old Balde. “At least this is something we can see. Other countries give us money, but the politicians eat it, and so people like me never see any of it.”

Africa has become a crucial part of China’s growth strategy. Trade between Africa and China has grown fourfold since 2001, topping $45 billion in the first 10 months of last year. At a summit attended by 35 African heads of state last fall in Beijing, Chinese entrepreneurs signed deals worth $1.9 billion with African governments and firms.